Diamond Knights
The Diamond Knights are an Ultima Founding Successor Chapter of the Ultramarines comprised entirely of newly revealed Primaris Space Marines. This chapter, unlike their predecessors and fellow successors, is only semi-adherent to the ''Codex Astartes''. Despite being a young chapter they have fought many battles on behalf of the Imperium and are on constant crusade to defend Mankind from all who would do them harm. History The Diamond Knights were founded in the closing days of the Indomitus Crusade. Their Chapter Master, Marcus Lucullus was a Captain in the Unnumbered Sons and displayed natural leadership and skills in battle. As such he was commanded by Lord Guilliman to establish the Chapter. Marcus was not the only founder of the Chapter however, upon being given the mandate to build the Chapter; Marcus was joined by several others, the Astartes in question formed an oath of brotherhood intended to be closer than the average Battle-brothers; they currently form the leadership of the Diamond Knights. Immedietly after the Chapter was built Marcus chose to lead under the title of Lord Commander to honour his Primarch and proclaimed a crusade against all enemies of Mankind. Chapter Homeworld As a fleet-based Chapter, the Diamond Knights have no official homeworld. Instead, their fortress-monastery is situated onboard the star fort Diamond Keep. The rest of the Chapter serves aboard the fleet of Strike Cruisers and Battle Barges that were assigned to the Diamond Knights when the Chapter was founded. Notable Campaigns *'The Indomitus Crusade (ca. 999.M41 - ca. 111.M42): '''The Diamond Knights much like many Primaris Chapters served with destinction in the Indomitus Crusade. Out of the bloodiest battles of the Crusade (e.g. The Devastation of Baal), rose the Chapter's elite. *'The Plague Wars (ca. 111.M42): Just like the other Successor Chapters of the Ultramarines, the Diamond Knights answered their Primarch's call to defend the Realm of Ultramar. It was during this conflict that the Knights truly gained a claim to fame, when they helped drive the Death Guard from the industrial world of Ravishol. *'''The Bastion Crusade (Unknown Date.M42): The current campaign the chapter is engaged in alongside their fellow chapter the Tempest Wolves. The crusade was started to secure the rear of the forces heading to Vigilus and allowing them to focus on winning that conflict. Chapter Organisation Command Ranks *'Lord Commander (Chapter Master and First Captain)' *'Commander (Captain)' *'Sub-Commander (Lieutenant)' Specialist Ranks *'Loremaster (Chief Librarian)' *'Keeper (Epistolary)' *'Bishop (Master of Sanctity)' Order of Battle Specialist Formations Diamond Paladins: The Diamond Paladins are the elite warriors of the Chapter, (equivalent to 1st Company veterans.) Most of the current Diamond Paladins are veterans of the bloodiest battles of the Indomitus Crusade and the Plague wars, as such they are equipped with the some of the finest crafted weapons the Chapter has too offer. Paladin Dreadnoughts: The Paladin Dreadnoughts are the Chapter's equivalent of Venerable Dreadnoughts, although they are typically Paladins who have been entombed in ornate Redemptor Dreadnoughts chassis. Combat Doctrine While the Chapter does adhere to the combat doctrine of the Codex Astartes, they have been known to try and think outside the book; for example deep striking is a key part of the Chapter's combat doctrine and it mainly consists of deploying melee squads with ranged support from Hellblasters, Aggressors and Intercessors. This is seen extensively in the second and third companies, both companies often deploy in formations that have the Inceptor Squads go in first with heavy support from the Hellblasters, followed by the Intercessors then the Aggressors. The Chapter has also make use of Chainswords and have primarily given these weapons to their Inceptor Squads in order to maintain the more well known assault tactics. Siege Warfare is another key part of the Diamond Knights' combat doctrine, their favoured defensive tactic is the infamous "Steel Rain" tactic, which involves keeping a percentage of the company in orbit as reserves in order to make use of coordinated defensive deep strikes. The addition of the Vanguard Space Marines provided the Knights with new ways to bring the Emperor's Wrath down upon His foes. Chapter Culture The Diamonds Knights culture is centered around a code of honour that was put into play at the Chapter's founding. This code dictates that a Battle-brother is to refrain from acts that are deemed as dishonourable, for example abandoning civilians to die when such a disaster can be avoided. The code also forbids the Chapter from refusing calls for aid from fellow Imperial assets, the only exception to this is if members of the Chapter are either pre-occupied with an engagement or are not close enough to respond in time. One of the few exceptions to this code is the Reivers' use of stealth, it is overlooked due to the combat doctrine of the Reivers. It is also not unheard of for members of the Chapter to bear wargear that has the Iconography of the Ultramarines upon it, these items were either gifts from the Ultramarines or were forged that way so the Knights can honour their progenitor Chapter while in battle. Chapter Recruitment The Diamond Knights primarily recruit from the Aetius sub-sector of the Segmentum Tempestus, their trails are almost identical to those of the Ultramarines. When the Neophyte is recruited into the Chapter he is taught the Chapter's code of honour and that honour is a quintessential trait of a Space Marine; and that if a Space Marine dies in service to the Imperium and with his honour intact then his life has had true meaning. Chapter Gene-Seed Being both Primaris Marines and descendants of the Ultramarines, the Diamond Knights gene-seed is very stable and shows little signs of mutations. Notable Diamond Knights *'Lord Commander Marcus Lucullus': Chapter Master of the Diamond Knights. Despite the chapter's recent founding, Marcus has seen more than his fair share of combat; he sets a fine example of leadership in these dark times. Marcus is more hands on then the average Chapter Master, at times choosing to lead from the front. *'Commander Atreus': Commander of the second company and second-in-command of the chapter. Although young for his role, Atreus has already garnered a reputation as a feared and fearless warrior, to the point were various Imperial Guardsmen tremble at the mere mention of his name. Atreus has also known to display a vicious streak of arrogance, often reveling in the belief that he is the obvious choice to succeed Marcus as Lord Commander. He also finds the Reivers and Vanguard Space Marines of the Chapter dishonourable and cowardly, as such he does not allow them within his company. Despite his arrogance, Atreus still abides by the Chapter's code of honour and is fiercely loyal to his Chapter and Battle-brothers. *'Commander Marius': Commander of the third company. He gained notoriety as a Lieutenant in the Unnumbered Sons during the Indomitus Crusade. He would later be among the first to join Lord Commander Lucullus in building the Diamond Knights and has since gone on to lead the third company to many victories. *'Commander Rhesus': Commander of the fourth company and Master of the Fleet. Rhesus is one of the many Terran born members of the Chapter, he is a stern yet compassionate leader never willing to needlessly sacrifice the lives of civillians or his battle-brothers. *'Bishop Cotys': Master of Sanctity and chief adviser to Lord Commander Lucullus. Known for his piety towards the Emperor and his hatred to any and all enemies of Mankind, even former enemies. He is also the Chapter's foremost expert on Xenos artifacts. *'Loremaster Dorian': Chief Librarian and arguably the oldest of the Diamond Knights in terms of physical age. Dorian takes the name of his title very seriously and has gone out of his way to seek any lore possibly; from painstakingly recording every moment possible in the Chapter's history to acquiring knowledge of enemies of the Imperium to gathering knowledge of other Astartes Chapters. *'Sub-Commander Lukos': Second-in-command and Company Champion of the third company. Throughout his service to the Chapter and the Imperium, Lukos has earned many honours such as the Iron Halo and Victory Laurels. Many of the Chapter's young battle-brothers have come to idolize Lukos and consider him to be the Chapter's greatest warrior. *'Chiron': Master of the Forge and arguably one of the greatest Primaris Techmarines to ever be trained by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Chapter Fleet Diamond Keep (Fortress-monastery): The Fortress-monastery of the Diamond Knights is a heavily modified Ramilies-class Starfort. The Keep is fully mobile, roughly 50km across and armed to the teeth. Not much is known about the Keep's history other than it once belonged to a renegade Chapter, before it was gifted to the Diamond Knights. Pure Diamond (Battle-barge): The Chapter flagship is a battle barge of no standard design and mistaken by many as the Knights' fortress-monastery. Flawless Gem (Battle-barge) Precious Stone (Battle-barge) Primarch's Wrath (Battle-barge): Venerable Battle-barge, currently attached to the 3rd Company. Broadsword (Battle-barge) Claymore (Battle-barge) Diamond Crusader (Battle-barge) Daedalus (Battle-barge) Invictus (Strike Cruiser) Chimera (Strike Cruiser) Judicator (Strike Cruiser) Pious Seeker (Strike Cruiser) Apostle of Truth (Strike Cruiser) Pilgrim (Strike Cruiser) Excalibur (Strike Cruiser) Vigilant Knight (Strike Cruiser) Javelin (Strike Cruiser) Cuirass (Strike Cruiser) Chapter Relics Diamond Smasher: A Master-Crafted Thunder Hammer, said to be forged the volcanic foundries of Mars itself. This great weapon was gifted by Chapter Master Calgar upon the Diamond Knights founding. The Hammer is currently wielded by Lord Commander Lucullus, many see it as the Lord Commander's badge of office. Chapter Appearance The Diamond Knights primarily wear black coloured power armour with yellowish-gold on the shoulder pauldron trim. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard is also yellow-ish gold in colour. The Chapter's Librarians, Apothecaries and Techmarines also wear black armor; although they wear either robes or tabards in the colours of the department, (e.g. Techmarines were red robes and Librarians were blue). Chapter Badge The Diamond Knights Chapter badge is a stylised red coloured lozenge (diamond) centered upon a field of black. Chapter Relations 'Allies' 'Aetius Conclave' An Inquisitorial Conclave based in the Aetius Sector, as the Diamond Knights use the Sector as their primary recruiting grounds; they have been know to work closely with the Conclave and at times lent a number of marines to an Inquisitor's retinue. 'Ultramarines and Successor Chapters' The Diamonds Knights maintain a strong alliance with both the Ultramarines and their fellow successor chapters, believing that the Sons of the restored Primarch need be united now more than ever. 'Enemies' 'Emperor's Children' The Diamond Knights consider the Emperor's Children to be their primary enemy among the forces of Chaos. In part because they defile the Emperor's name and in part because of what Fulgrim did to Guilliman during the Battle of Thessala. By the Diamond Knights About the Diamond Knights Feel free to add your own Trivia Full credit for the art used on this page goes to Algrim Whitefang The Bastion Crusade is a planned collaboration between TheUnholyEmperor and Yaminogaijin Category:Fleet-Based Chapters Category:Imperium Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:Ultima Founding Category:Ultramarines Successors